Break Free
by Faith-o-saurus
Summary: Rose never makes it over to her original universe. After Torchwood shuts down the Dimension Cannon, strange disappearances start to occur in the small town of Broadchurch. Rose volunteers on the case in hopes of getting away from the memories of the Doctor, but is in for a big surprise.
1. Chapter 1

**I have recently fallen in love with the Rose and Alec pairing, which spurred this fanfic into action. It takes place after Broadchurch season 1, so it falls in canon for that, but I have yet to watch any of season 2, so don't expect it to follow that line too well. **

**I've mapped out about half the story already, but another update might not come straight away due to multiple exams. **

**Also, if anyone would be willing to beta this story, I would be very grateful.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Rose sighed as she drove along the Dorset coast, heading toward the Broadchurch hotel – Trader's, she thought it was called – Pete had set up. There was a small reading right in the center of the town, nothing too crucial. A bit of an energy flux, perhaps a glimpse of a rift – nothing big enough to cause a moderate to severe level of catastrophe, but enough to jumpstart local folklore.

Torchwood looked into it briefly, performing a background check on the area to rule out major threats. If this were the only factor, no one would have even bothered to go up to the area. What has everyone worried area the mysterious disappearances of seemingly random residents. Cue Rose.

She had been working with the dimension canon for years, and the farthest she had gotten was the void. Once the stars started returning, it was mostly Rose that worked on the project, usually with only Mickey's help. At that point, she was the only one that had something to lose. Months later, Torchwood shut down the project completely, deciding that ripping fabrics in reality wasn't worth the sliver of hope of getting back to the other universe.

This was one year ago. Afterward, Rose threw herself into her work, becoming more and more reckless on missions; they got to the point where Pete stuck her on desk duty. Being behind the desk only gave her time with her thoughts, so when, about a year after the matter, the disappearances started in Broadchurch, she jumped on the chance.

She pulled into Trader's parking lot, and got out her luggage from the trunk of her sleek black Torchwood-funded SUV once parked. She checked in quickly and went up to her room, not bothering to unpack her things into the wooden dresser that a box television sat on top of. She wasn't sure how long she would be here and she had to get over to the Broadchurch Police Station as soon as possible. She would have preferred to have an opportunity to shower after the drive, but settled for just taking one after the meeting.

Rose sighed and grabbed her purse again, heading out the door.

oooo

The drive was thankfully short, considering how small of a town it was.

She made her way through the doors, stopping at the front desk. "I'm Agent Tyler, sent from Torchwood. I was told I would be meeting with the DI today?"

The woman glanced down at a sheet. "You can go on and head back there, DS Miller will show you to his office," she said, while pointing in the direction of a single door.

Rose nodded her thanks, though the woman had already placed her attention elsewhere, and headed through the door. The precinct was on the smaller side, which wasn't too surprising. She only had a moment to size up before a woman with dark curly hair was in her line of vision, a friendly smile on her face. "Hello, you must be Agent Tyler." She held her hand out for Rose to shake.

Rose took the hand and gave it one firm shake, returning the smile. "That's me. DS Miller, then?"

She nodded. "You can just call me Ellie, though."

"You can call me Rose, then."

She smiled, and then glanced over her shoulder. "I'll go ahead and take you to DI Hardy's office." She motioned for her to follow as she began walking. "Fair warning, he's a bit of a grump. Don't take it personally; he's like that with everyone."

Rose had fair share of grumpy coworkers on her hand at Torchwood, so she wasn't too worried. The Doctor had done a good job of hardening her up on their travels, as well, with the different types of beings they ran into. "I've dealt with that sort of stuff before."

The door to the office was shut and the blinds were closed. Ellie knocked on the door quickly and then peeked in. Her words were muffled as she spoke, and a moment later she opened the door all the way and ushered for Rose to go inside.

She smiled in gratitude and stepped through, then turned to the man.

Her eyes widened and her breaths became short and irregular, and she was sure her heart had all but stopped at the sight before her. "Doctor?"

The DI, or perhaps the Doctor, raised an eyebrow in reply. "No, Detective Inspector. Says it right on the door."

Rose's eyes dulled for a moment, and then she used all her willpower and training to reign in her emotions, leaving her face blank. This man wasn't the Doctor. The Scottish accent was only mild proof, but she could already tell by his demeanor that the man's personality was a 180 from his. She felt a flash of anger at her dad; didn't he do any background checks on the people she would be working with? Did he know?

She blinked a few times and focused on the Detective Inspector, ignoring her racing heart. "Um, I'm Agent Tyler. They sent me from Torchwood about the disappearances." She had already prepared herself for an onslaught on questions regarding Torchwood. Any in-depth knowledge was not widely known outside of the employees, and if it were her, she would want to know who she would be working with. After the shock to her system though, she wasn't sure how well she'd fare.

DI Hardy frowned and crossed his arms, not bothering to get up from his chair. "Don't see what bloody outside resources are needed for," he muttered under his breath. "They sent you here, but didn't bother telling me what you're even for."

Rose nodded and let out a long sigh. She had to keep the information brief. The only reason she would need to give a more in-depth explanation is if she indeed found any alien activity in relation to the case. "Torchwood is a government-funded organization dealing with unique threats. There is suspicion that these disappearances may be of special circumstances, which is where I come in."

"What kind of unique threats are we talking about?"

She shook her head once. "That's classified. I'm here to scope the area and validate our suspicions, and if that happens, then we'll talk more. Now, how about you brief me on the case." She kept her gaze level with his. She'd dealt with the look of the Oncoming Storm; this man's glare was nothing.

Eventually, he grunted and his frown deepened as he swiveled over to a manila folder. Rose took a seat and looked down as he opened it up. Now, she couldn't bring herself to look at him any longer than necessary. "We've had a total of six disappearances in the span of six months. They seemed to have vanished in thin air; no trails or leads have been found."

She braved a glance at him, then looked back to the papers inside the folder. She read them over carefully. "Not even in the same areas?"

"What does it look like?"

She sent a glare his way and placed the paper back on his desk. "Can I get a copy of these? I'm going to brief my team later and I'll need the details."

He grunted again and grabbed the folder. He craned his neck to call out the door. "Miller, get some copies made up of this case!"

Ellie walked into his office seconds later, rolling her eyes. "I'm your DS, not your secretary."

"That's I'm your DS, _sir_."

oooo

Once Rose got back to the hotel, she rushed straight for the bathroom and turned on the shower, peeling her clothes off and sliding under the water. Now that she was alone, she allowed herself to give in to her feelings. Every thought was right back on the Doctor. How was she supposed to focus on this case with DI Hardy working beside her? She left London to get away from the memories, but instead managed to find herself in an even worse predicament.

Tears streamed down her face, washing her grief down the drain with the water.


	2. Chapter 2

**Getting this up a bit earlier than expected. Enjoy!**

* * *

Early the next morning, Rose was scouting the area of the reading, Torchwood gear in place. She had to close a larger area off than necessary to keep prying eyes away, and the solitude of the beach was a nice change from London. When she called Torchwood the night before, she found it best to keep the DI's appearance to herself, afraid that she'd be forced off the case. She was Rose Tyler, defender of the Earth. She could take care of herself.

"All right, let's see what we've got," Rose murmured as she turned on the small handheld device in her hand. It hummed to life and showed a series of different colored lines, jumping at different points. She quietly cursed to herself and grabbed her phone from her pocket.

"_Agent Tyler._" She recognized the voice of Pete on the other line.

She began to walk around slowly, the phone cradled between her should and ear. "Are you sure the readings came back as a 3? I'm getting upwards of 6 out here."

"_That's what you're there for, Rose. Do you feel the need to clear Broadchurch PD?_"

"Do you?"

"_You have the readings. I'm giving you permission, so the choice is yours._"

Rose sighed and ended the call, looking down at the readings again. They stayed at a steady point, no matter where she walked. The readings were high and she knew she had to brief the DI and DS. Explaining what Torchwood does was never one of her favorite jobs, but she was often given the duty after having experience with such things with the Doctor. She snorted; he never really was the one to do the explaining, just scaring poor passersby half to death.

Another couple of hours were spent recording different readings and possible locations of the rift, and then she headed back up the beach to go to the station.

oooo

She made it through the office without much of a glance.

Ellie looked up and offered a smile. "Rose, good to see you. You said you need to do some briefing?"

She nodded and smiled back. "Yeah, but only with you and the DI, if that's all right. We can't have the whole station knowing all the details."

Ellie looked at her in confusion, but led her to the DI's office without another word. Both women went inside without a knock.

Alec sighed, giving them reproachful looks. "What have I said about knocking, Miller."

"You knew she was on her way over, so I didn't see the point, _Alec_."

He shot her an irritated look before getting up to move to the front of his desk. He crossed his arms and leaned against the edge, his attention focused on Rose. "What've you found?"

Rose still found it hard to look at him, but fought through it. She was going to be here a lot longer than she first thought, so she had no choice. It could be considered a good mental exercise. "First, I need to give both you and Ellie a bit of Torchwood background. The Director is already on the phone with your Super, doing the same." She motioned for both to take seats again. Ellie moved over to one of the chairs against the glass window, but Alec stayed standing.

Rose fought to not roll her eyes, instead shutting the door firmly. "What I'm about to tell you might make you think I'm a right nutter, fair warning." She glanced between the two. Ellie's curiosity was noticeable, but the DI gave nothing away.

She took a deep breath and began. She told them about the aliens they had dealt with and other instances that, if someone were to walk by, might have her sectioned. She kept close tabs of their reactions the whole time, thankful that neither interrupted her. She was careful to not give away any personal stories, especially nothing that contained the Doctor or the other universe.

When she was finished, a heavy silence hung in the air. Alec soon snorted and looked at her through skeptical eyes. "You expect us to believe this…this _fairytale_ of yours. Aliens?" He shook his head and moved back behind his desk, taking a seat.

"Want to get on the phone with my Director? I'd be more than happy." Rose didn't know why she felt so irritated by his non-belief. She's run into plenty like him, more often than not. Perhaps because this man that wore the Doctor's face was practically scoffing at everything the Doctor encompassed.

"Aye."

She nodded once and pulled out her phone and dialed Pete's number, handing the phone over to Alec. Once they began speaking, she turned to Ellie. "How about you? Think I need to be sectioned?" She cracked a small smile.

Ellie took a deep breath, then slowly shook her head. "It all sounds crazy, you have to admit." The corner of her lips turned up. "But I think it's nice to believe every now and again. Besides, you don't _seem_ crazy." She smirked.

Rose laughed. "You'd be surprised."

A loud sigh came from Alec, causing both of them to turn to him. He held out the phone for Rose to take, and then logged onto his computer. "He's sending 'proof', apparently." His voice was so low that she wasn't sure if it was meant for her or not.

Ellie slowly moved over to lean over him and look for herself. "What the bloody hell is _that?_"

Rose smiled and watched the two reactions, both very different.

Alec ran a hand over his face and leaned back in his chair. "So why are you here exactly?"

Rose took this to mean he believed her and moved on. "I was first assigned here to look at readings that are near the location of the first disappearance. Back at Torchwood, they told me they were low readings. I only expected to check it out, see if there was any indication of fowl play, and then move on. But," she pulled a manila folder out of her bag and handed it over to the DI, "when I tested it myself, the readings were higher than a 6 – usually, we brief local police if it's at least a 5."

"What exactly does that mean?" Alec put on his reading glasses and looked the pictures over, giving each to Ellie after he looked them over.

"The numbers signify chance of alien interaction. If it's anything higher than a five, there is a better chance of it happening than not. Now, there are also readings of a small rift – pretty much energy resulting from a tear in the fabric of space – which I wasn't able to pinpoint. It's very small, so I don't think we have to worry too often, but it could have something to do with the disappearances."

Alec nodded, still looking down at the report. "So, where do we go from here?"

oooo

After a little more discussing and, on Alec's part, grumbling, Rose felt satisfied for the day. They had all planned to start looking into the disappearances more tomorrow, now that they had a fresh perspective.

"Rose!"

Rose turned to see Ellie making her way over to her. She subtly raised her eyebrows; she liked Ellie, and she hoped they could become friends during her time here.

"I just want to apologize for Hardy. He can be a bit of a…"

"All 'round git?"

Ellie laughed. "Yeah, you can put it that way. Just…don't let it get to you. Oh! Would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow night? It's gotta get lonely up in that hotel room of yours."

Rose smiled. "I'd like that, thanks. See you tomorrow."

oooo

Once back in her room, Rose called Torchwood. "Just letting you know that we finished with briefing. We're going to start bright and early on the disappearances tomorrow. I've set up feeds around the beach, too, that read right back here. I'll let you know if anything changes."

The rest of the conversation was short, moving on to pleasantries, and then she made her way over to her laptop. Still no changes. She sighed and pick up her phone again.

"_Rose! How're you like that town there, sweetheart? A bit quaint, innit? Oh, Tony wants to say hi!"_

Rose couldn't help but giggle. She missed her mother dearly. A small voice greeted her and she grinned. "Hey Tone, you taking care of mum?"

"_Yep! Mummy says she misses you. I miss you, too._"

"Oi, I've only been gone a day. Promise I won't be gone too long, all right?"

"'_Kay. Here's mummy._"

She talked to her mother a little about what was going on and Jackie updated her on her latest gossip from the woman that went to her mother for their hair. Even though she didn't need to work anymore, she felt restless when she had nothing to do.

"All right, I'll call you tomorrow mum. I'm gettin' tired."

"_Bye, sweetheart. Don't work too hard._"

Rose hung up the phone and went to do her nightly routine. After, she reclined on the bed and turned on the television, forcing herself to relax.


	3. Chapter 3

Rose stood walked up to Ellie's front door, a bottle of wine in hand. It had been a while since she's had an actual girl friend, and any of those friends were when she was still in her teen years. Other than her parents' parties and the dinners with Jake and his husband, she wasn't too sure of the etiquette for the night. She knocked on the door.

The door opened a few moments later to show Ellie, a smile on her face. "Rose! Good, I hoped you'd find it all right." She glanced down at the bottle. "And you brought wine! I think we'll be good friends." She winked and Rose laughed, both heading inside.

Ellie gave her a brief tour and introduced her to Tom and Fred, the latter whom instantly took to Rose.

Rose was sitting in the kitchen with Fred on her lap when the doorbell rang. She was slightly confused; was it a dinner party?

She heard Ellie open the door, "Come on in, Alec."

Oh, bollocks.

Rose bit her lip and accidentally gripped Fred too tight, so she allowed him to wiggle out of her lap and run to his mother. She closed her eyes as she heard the pair of footsteps heading her way.

"Agent Tyler, nice to see you again."

She fought back a sigh as she opened her eyes and turned toward him, a smile on her face. "Alec," she was slightly amused at his eyes narrowing at the use of his name, "I didn't know you'd be joining us. And please, call me Rose. We're not at work."

He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. "All right, _Rose_."

"Right!" Ellie clapped her hands once with an exaggerated smile. "Dinner should be ready in a minute. Alec, set the plates, will ya?"

He went to grab the plates, but grumbled the whole time about 'proper use of names'.

Once they were all seated and eating, Rose cleared her throat and turned to him. "So, judging by your accent, you don't seem to be a native. Where are you from?"

"Scotland."

This dinner was going to be harder than she thought. She sighed and continued to eat, deciding it best not to try another bout of conversation. She knew a lot of his anger at her had to do with the fact that she'd come swooping in on his case, but she couldn't help that there were aspects normal law enforcement wouldn't be able to deal with. At first, his gruff nature was welcomed for its vast difference from the Doctor's, but now that she had to deal with him on a daily basis, it's quickly becoming old.

oooo

"All right, kids are in bed." Ellie walked down the stairs and into the living room, sitting in one of the arm chairs. Alec and Rose were sat on the couch, on opposite sides from each other.

The television was on the news station, where there was a story on a recently convicted man in London.

"They should lock him up for life, maybe give him a capital sentence," Alec stated casually, crossing his ankle over his knee and sipping on his wine.

Rose looked over at him incredulously, but he didn't look back. "You're not serious. People make mistakes; that doesn't mean we should kill 'em. It wasn't like it was intentional."

"He put himself in that situation. Are you forgetting about the other man? He doesn't have the ability to walk away, so why should he?" He finally turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised.

"It was a horrible thing and he definitely deserves punishment, but not to be killed. That doesn't make us any better than what he did." The Doctor had always said that she was compassionate, but he also said it was a good thing. She glanced over at Ellie, who was looking between the two with interest and perhaps a hint of reluctance, not sure whether to let them continue on.

Alec set down him glass on the side table and leaned toward Rose, elbows on his knees. "It sets an example. General deterrence; when people see what happens when you make this big of a 'mistake'," she gave him a look at his condescending tone, "then they think twice before making that same 'mistake'. Law and order." He shrugged and leaned back, grabbing his glass again.

"He can be made an example of in prison. But killing? Our own species, at that. I've known men that have killed, and sometimes it's not their fault. Sometimes they have no choice." She looked away, thoughts turned to the Doctor. "But to kill to set an example? That's not what humanity is about. Sometimes people need to be showed compassion."

Alec stared at her for a few more moments before relaxing into the couch, a small smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

oooo

A few hours later, Rose left – Ellie not allowing her to help clean up – which left Alec and Ellie alone to do the cleaning. They worked in silence, and it wasn't until he was getting ready to leave that she voiced her thoughts.

"Some talk between you two. She holds her own."

Alec stiffened for a moment, then continued to put on his coat. "She's passionate, I'll give her that."

Ellie smirked and crossed her arms. "Don't think I didn't see that smile on your face."

"She gained my respect. That's all." He reached for the door handle.

"Gained your respect? That it? She is rather pretty." She looked down at her fingernails casually.

"Miller," Alec growled with a hint of warning.

oooo

The next day, all three drove to the site of the readings. When Rose had gotten back from Ellie's, she saw that the readings had peaked up to a 9 for a split second, then back down. It was beyond unusual.

Once she had positioned the equipment, she handed extra readers to Ellie and Alec. "If the number gets higher than 6 at all, call me and stay where you are. The reading went all the way up to 9 last night, so I want to see if we get anything else.

They all went their own ways. Rose was thankful to now be able to have others help out, since it had taken an insurmountable amount of time when she was alone. She wasn't too keen on spending her day out on the cold beach.

Alec had taken the East, moving slowly, his eyes roaming from the reader to his surroundings. He couldn't even see the other two, who were on the opposite side of the cliffs. When he looked down at the reader, he was surprised to see it all the way up to 9.4. "Shite." He pulled out his phone, careful to not jostle the reader, and dialed Rose's number. "Hey Rose, I've got readings up to 9.4."

"_Okay, I'm coming to you. Hold on._"

He put his phone back in his pocket and looked out at the ocean as he waited.

"Hey, what've you got?" She was running up to him, and pulled the reader out of his waiting hands. "Blimey! All right, here, take mine." She thrust her own reader in his hand. "Take over my area. I'm going to look into this and then give Torchwood a call."

He furrowed his brow. "High readings are bad, right? Wouldn't it make more sense if I was with you?" He didn't like the idea of leaving her out of his sight, especially after everything she had told him about the nature of the crime. "People have been disappearing. You could be next."

She gave him a small smile. "I've been doing this a long time, Detective, but thank you for your consideration. We need to cover as much area as possible, and I have my phone."

He huffed. "I'm not being _considerate_, I'm being smart."

"Detective, I'll be fine, I promise." She gave him another smile, and then turned her attention back to the reader.

Alec grumbled, but complied. He refused to allow her to be in his line of sight, though, but stayed far enough for her not to notice.

Rose continued walking again, farther and farther away, and it didn't even seem she was in the area of the initial readings anymore. Sand was starting to give away to grass, but the reading stayed. She furrowed her brow and continued on. A few minutes later and the number started to increase again, all the way to 10. "What the hell…." Her words died out as she looked up. She was standing in front of the beginning of a small forest, but it was just one tree that held her attention. Words were carved into the bark.

_BAD WOLF._


	4. Chapter 4

Bad Wolf. The words had been haunting her all night, and into the light of sunrise. Was it a sign of the Doctor? Would she finally find him again? She had contemplated calling Torchwood the night before – she felt it was too soon to open that can of worms with the Broadchurch PD – but thought it better to investigate a little more on her own, first. She knew that if they caught news of it, there would be a team out here in no time, and she didn't want to worry the locals anymore than they already were.

When the bedside clock struck 7:00, she decided it was best to get up. She sighed, knowing that she was bound to be tired for a good amount of the day, but luckily her time with the Doctor and overnight Torchwood operations had jaded her to the fatigue much more than the average person. She showered quickly and dressed for the day. She had told the DI and DS that she would meet them at the station at 8:30. The clock read 8:00 once she had finished her routine and she figured they wouldn't mind if she was a little early.

It didn't take long to make the trip, so she had decided to stop by the local coffee shop to pick up some cups, having memorized what they like from previous mornings.

"Rose! Ooh, I hope those are for us."

She smiled at Ellie. "Of course. Figure we'll need some energy boosters, if you're anything like me." She handed Ellie hers. They walked to Alec's office, Ellie knocking twice before letting them both in.

He looked up and set his eyes on the cups in Rose's hands.

She walked over and placed his in front of him. "Have some energy."

He raised an eyebrow. "How do you know my preference," he said slowly, his accent especially thick with the last word.

She shrugged. "I pay attention."

"How much?" He lifted his hips slightly to retrieve his wallet from his back pocket and opened it up, looking at her expectantly.

She shook her head and waved a hand. "It's on me." When he went to protest, she held up her hand in a 'stop' position. "Really."

He looked at her for a moment with a frown, then sighed and put his wallet back. "So, what're starting with today, Tyler?"

She rolled her eyes at his usage of her last name, but refrained from teasing. "Well, I figured we'd go over the transcript of the readings again and pinpoint the strongest areas, so I can keep an eye on it."

They spent most of the morning going over all of their findings, and then Rose left to put the coordinates into the main signal device back at the hotel and to call Torchwood.

ooo

Rose picked up her phone and dialed her stepfather's number, having just set up the new coordinates.

"_Pete Tyler."_

"Hey, Pete. Checking in with some higher readings after scoping the area yesterday, all the way up to a 9. Oddly enough, it seemed to get higher a bit away from the initial plot points."

"_I can send Mickey and Jake out there, if you need. That's extremely high, Rose_."

Rose felt her stomach drop. She wasn't ready to deal with the scrutiny over Alec's appearance, so she needed to keep everyone at bay. "No, that's not necessary. No immediate threats have been placed yet. I'll let you know if anything more serious comes up."

"…_All right. But call me __**right away**__if anything else comes up. I'll talk to you later._"

She sighed and pressed the end button, dropping her phone on the bed. She knew she should have said something about Bad Wolf, but couldn't bring herself to breach the subject. No one from this universe would fully understand the seriousness of the phrase, only Mickey and the Doctor sharing that specific experience with her.

Only moments after she laid down on the bed for a small kip, her phone rang again. She groaned and groped for it blindly. "Hello?"

"_We need you down at the station asap. There has been another disappearance._"

ooo

"Chloe Latimer was reported missing by her mother half an hour ago." He poked the case file in front of him, eyes focused on Rose and Ellie. "We need to find her, and fast. After the murder case, it can't be good on the family."

Ellie shook her head, her eyes sad. "Those poor people have been through so much. They can't lose another child, it's not fair."

Alec sighed. "It's part of the job. Shut it off."

Rose glanced between the two, her brow furrowing in confusion "Murder?"

The both looked at her in shock. "You mean you don't know about the Latimer boy's murder? It was on every news station for months."

Rose felt a blush creep onto her cheeks. "I had been so busy at Torchwood and the…project I was working on, that I didn't really pay much attention to the outside world." She shrugged.

Ellie blinked. "_Really_ didn't pay attention, then." She glanced away and rubbed her arm. "The Latimer's little boy, Danny, was killed. Only eleven years old."

Rose felt a slight sting in her heart. No child should be taken so cruelly from the world. "That's horrible. Did you manage to catch the killer at least?" She didn't miss the look the two shared at the question.

"We did," Alec stated with finality, and Rose didn't press further. He sighed and stood up. "We'll need to talk to the family. Do you know how to deal with victims?" He looked at Rose with both eyebrows raised.

She nodded. "Many times. I'm often requested for it by the board, somethin' about them feeling comfortable around me. I'd like to come."

He sniffed and nodded once, moving toward the door. "Miller, stay here and hold the place up."

Rose was a bit confused by the relieved look on her face, but didn't comment as she followed him out.

ooo

"Where was the last place she was seen?" Alec pulled out a pad of paper and a pen.

"She was with Dean. He told us she went out to get them something to eat, but never returned. We checked the restaurant, and they said she never came in," Mark responded, looking down at his hands with a hard look on his face.

Alec writes it down. "And…what restaurant was this?"

"Just the local Chinese takeaway."

He nodded and jotted more down.

Beth Latimer was holding an infant close to her chest with a devastated expression. "I just don't understand. Why would they take her? What has she done? This can't happen again."

Rose took a seat in the chair near Beth. She gave her a gentle smile and laid a hand on her wrist. "We are going to do everything in our power to bring your daughter back."

Beth looked at her, her face still troubled. "Promise me. Promise me you'll bring her back." Her words were vehement.

Rose glanced up at Alec, then back to her. "We will."

ooo

While in the car, Rose noticed Alec huff a couple of times. After the third, she sighed and turned to him. "What?"

"You can't just promise that we'll find her. There hasn't been luck with the others, and they don't need to get their hopes up if she winds up dead."

Rose narrowed her eyes. "Hope is something everyone needs, especially in a time like this. A man I used to travel with…he always promised, and you know what? More often than not, he kept it."

He sighed and shook his head. "What happens if we don't? They end up crushed, and who do you think they're going to take it out on?"

"And you don't think they would be crushed if I didn't promise them? You don't think they wouldn't still put the blame on us? It's our job to find her, and we will." She looked at him for a moment, though if he noticed he didn't give any hint. "You know Alec, I think sometimes you need to have a little hope."

"You called me Alec."

"Yes, I did. It's a nice name, you should use it more often."

They spent the rest of the ride in silence.


	5. Chapter 5

**Got this up a lot quicker than I thought! It's a good break from studying for my exams.**

**Also, I really need a beta for this story. If anyone is interested, either review with your interest or hit the "contact" button on my profile. Thanks!**

* * *

A whole week goes by without any spikes in the readings. It isn't until the Tuesday after that the energy peaked. Rose went straight to the site, and she felt uneasy at what was in front of her.

She was taken to the same place that she had seen Bad Wolf before, but now _every tree_ had the words carved in. Did she do this when she absorbed the time vortex? Was she so powerful that she could send the message across the multiverse?

After checking out the area with no luck other than this, she decided it was time to call the station to alert them of her arrival. Everyone had been on edge since Chloe went missing, and it seemed to have become first priority for the precinct. She was quite worried for the girl as well, but she also had to pay attention to any alien behavior, as well. It still tied in, since there was a good chance her – and the others – disappearance had to do with alien activity.

"We've finally got some irregularities coming in," Rose said, walking straight into Alec's office. Ellie had taken a personal day, since Fred had caught the flu.

He looked up at her and pulled out the Torchwood file. "So, what are we looking at?"

She walked over and peered over his shoulder, pointing to one of the tables she had set up for all of the data. "We've got the highest yet. It's at a 10, which is a very bad thing."

Alec sighed and ran his hands down his face. "Where do we go from here?"

She was quiet for a moment, mulling things over. She knew he wasn't completely in the know, and consequently didn't understand the severity. After thinking it over, she realized her best route was to reveal her deepest secrets; her life with the Doctor and Bad Wolf. It wouldn't be as bad telling him about Bad Wolf, unlike her team who mostly had firsthand knowledge on the matter, but she was reluctant to tell him about the Doctor. Should she reveal his similarity? How would Alec react? She was slightly confused as to why she cared so much about what he would think, so she decided not to dwell on it. She learned from the Doctor that appearance wasn't what mattered, but what was underneath.

"Well…before I can delve into that, I think I need to tell you some things. About my life in the other universe."

He glanced over his shoulder at her and nodded his head.

She started to fiddle her fingers and bit her lip. "If you don't mind, maybe we could pick up some lunch and go back to my room? I'd feel more comfortable away from everyone near by."

He seemed to think it over, his eyes not focused as he weighed his options. "All right. If it helps you tell the story, it ultimately will help the case." He motioned for her to move back so he could push his chair out from under the desk and get up.

ooo

They went to a nearby chippy for her and a sandwich shop for him, and went into her hotel room. She sat down on the bed and motioned for him to sit next to her. He took a seat and looked at her expectantly.

She took a deep breath, looking down at her shoes. "I guess I should start from the beginning. When I was nineteen, I met a man, an absolutely magnificent man that changed my life forever." She paused, biting her lip. "He…I traveled with him, through time and space. I even met Charles Dickens." She chuckled when she noticed his eyebrows rising almost to his hairline.

"He was alien, which I'm sure you already expected. A Time Lord, most likely the more powerful species in the universe. Well, at least my universe; he told me Time Lords don't have parallel versions of themselves, only being a part of the main universe, the start of creation itself. He once told me that his people created black holes. I'll admit, I was a bit surprised. We were on a base on this planet orbiting a black hole, somehow with a gravitational field. He said that the area was impossibly old…that he didn't know who trapped-" She stopped for a moment, deciding not to delve into her adventure with 'Satan'. "The thing is…if they invented black holes, that must mean it was his people that created this…sort of prison. For this monster." He had never even brought up such a possibility, and at the time she didn't think to ask.

She knew she was getting off topic, so she quickly moved on. "This man…he was the last of the Time Lords." She didn't specify any further. "He could change his face. He had this ability called regeneration; when he was dying, his body repaired itself. She changed." She thought for a moment, trying to decide whether or not to tell him about her second Doctor. In the end, she decided it was best to keep it to herself for now; they weren't quite close enough yet for such an intimate and shocking detail. She kept herself from dwelling on the fact she added in 'yet'.

"Anyway, his whole body changed, but he was inherently the same. Certain personality traits changed, but everything that really counted stayed the same." She took a deep breath. "When…when I was out by the area with the highest readings, there were two words carved into seemingly every tree." She took a deep breath and kept quiet.

After a while, Alec raised his eyebrows and motioned for her to continue.

She nodded once. "The words were Bad Wolf. The story behind those words is quite long, so get comfortable." She decided to move back so she was resting against the headboard. Alec hesitated for a moment, and then got up and moved around the other side of the bed and mimicked her position on the other side, making sure there was an appropriate distance between them.

She continued on. "The Doctor – that was his name. Anyway, when the whole Bad Wolf debacle took place, I was with my first Doctor. It was actually the reason why he regenerated. He saved my life at the cost of one of his." She shook her head and looked ahead wistfully. "He sent me away. He knew that there was a very small chance, virtually no chance, that anyone would survive what he had planned, so he sent me away. He tricked me into going in his ship. It was called the TARDIS – Time And Relative Dimension In Space. That was how we traveled in space and time. The best years of my life…" She cleared her throat.

"Anyway, I wasn't having any of that. I know we meant well, but there was no way I just going to leave him to die! I wasn't aware of regeneration yet at this point…you should have seen my reaction when he was engulfed in golden light and suddenly with a new face." She let out a breathy laugh. "I managed to get back to him by opening the center of the TARDIS. I looked into the heart – the ship was sentient; I forgot to mention – and absorbed the energy from the time vortex. I'm pretty sure it lightly bonded me to her, as well. After everything, I was able to pick up on her emotions and communicate in a way I never had before. I never really told the Doctor about; it didn't seem too important, since I felt fine. Sorry, I keep on getting off track." She shook her head to clear her thoughts.

"I managed to get back to the time and place he was trapped in, and just on time, too. I don't remember my time as, for lack of better words, a goddess of time, only what the Doctor told me after months of pleading. He told me that I could see everything. My exact words apparently were that I could see all that is, all that was, all that ever could be." She looked down, her eyes slightly dull. She knew her voice had become rather flat, hiding her true pain. "I was engulfed in golden light. I destroyed the enemies we were facing the time. I ended the Time War." She decided not to elaborate on that part out of respect for the Doctor.

"I had spread the words Bad Wolf all over, to lead myself to that location. It also seems to be a sort of message. A message to lead myself to anywhere I'm most needed. I created myself. Which is why I'm so worried about this. It can only mean danger." She stopped there.

Alec was quiet for quite a while, processing everything. It was one thing for her to give facts about Torchwood and the threats they dealt with, but a completely different experience when she actually shared such a story with him. It was surreal. "So…do you still have this vortex thing in you?" He was slightly worried that she would all of the sudden start glowing.

She shook her head. "He told me he took it all out of me. Well, as far as we know. I told you how he gave one of his lives for me; that's why."

They sat in silence for several minutes, Rose lost in thoughts of the Doctor and Alec still processing.

Finally he sighed. "We should get back to the station, and then tomorrow…we'll tell everything to Miller."

She nodded. They both got up and walked out the door.


	6. IMPORTANT

Hey everyone!

I just wanted to say that I most likely won't post more of this story here on Fanfic, but **it is finished on my AO3 and Teaspoon accounts. **I also have a sequel up, "Vanishing".

They won't allow me to post the link here, but if you would like them say in a review or shoot me a PM :)

Thanks!


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